The invention relates to a flexible, energy-dissipating knee-restraining element for vehicles, and in particular, to a knee-restraining element which is installed beneath the instrument panel of a passenger automobile.
Knee-restraining elements are known. German Offenlegungsschrift No. 23 35 958 describes such an element. The known arrangements are used to restrain movement of the lower body of a passenger in the event of an emergency, particularly in vehicles which provide a safety belt, such as a shoulder belt for restraining only the upper body.
In these known arrangements, the knee-restraining element comprises a hollow beam which extends without interruption over the width of the vehicle, and is typically secured to the vehicle body at both of its ends. A disadvantage of these known arrangements is that space ordinarily allotted for storage, such as a glove box, is occupied by the knee-restraining element. Thus, a glove box or similar storage space cannot be provided.